Leeds Architecture Awards

1st November 2023

I love hosting big events. There’s the unpredictability of live broadcasting with the buzz of having the audience in the room with you. There’s also the prep beforehand - meetings and email exchanges with the organisers and putting together my script and notes so I’m as well prepared as possible. I’ve had the honour of MCing the Leeds Architecture Awards on a number of occasions before. This year felt extra special though, as it was the first event since 2019 because of the Covid pandemic. That meant a bumper crop of excellent projects for the judges to consider. I had the pleasure of chatting to the three of them on stage about their impressions of Leeds and the new and adapted buildings and public spaces they’d visited. But the night was also a big deal for me personally, coming in the week before my final shows on BBC Radio Leeds before taking voluntary redundancy. This was a glimpse into my new life as a freelance event host, presenter and teacher / trainer. The venue, the beautifully restored Howard Assembly Room next to Leeds Grand Theatre, ended up as one of the evening’s award winners. The team from there who looked after us on the night, and the three bodies involved (Leeds City Council, Leeds Civic Trust and the Leeds Society of Architects) were wonderfully well organised. I got a bit teary at the end! Just before I was about to bid everyone good night, the director of Leeds Civic Trust Martin Hamilton paid a generous tribute to me, for my thirty years of service on air at BBC Radio Leeds and for my continuing involvement with the awards.